Hell's Sovereign
by Malachite Rain
Summary: When hell knocks on your door, what do you do? In Overlord Norn's case, it is break the door in and find the one responsible for the racket. But perhaps he has found an opponent more than he can handle? Overlord challenge fic, challenge details inside. Expect many OC's as the Overlord universe is rather barren of proper characters.


**Hello! Hello, everybody! Welcome to Hell's Sovereign, an Overlord fic based on a challenge by Storylover213 who had contacted me in April. I decided to take up the challenge, but I will not focus so much on this fic; especially when I start writing the Domination Anew sequel.**

**Expect harem, some smut. There will be no Yaoi or Slash, so says the challenge.**

**The whole fic will go from Raising Hell to Overlord II.**

**R&R and enjoy!**

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Hell's Sovereign

Chapter 1

Hell's Wrath

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...It was an apt saying when you are married, as Norn is. There is nothing in the world, this plane or the other, that is more terrifying than Rose when she is angry. The entire tower would shake from the force of her shouts; minions ran for the hills and Gnarl's scales were slick with sweat profusely leaking from hidden pores. Even the Minion Master feared something equally as he fears his Overlord's tenuous trust after the return of the first Overlord.

Back to the saying, Norn found little resistance coming from this particular hellish plane's denizens. Horrible, dessicated creatures of almost solid evil and malice. Their bleached-white eye sockets glowed with unearthly white glow. Rusted armor draped with black cloth hangs around their decrepit frames. When Norn and his loyal minions found them first, they wandered aimlessly through the plains of a twisted version of Mellow hills. Norn's greatsword cleaved through them with ease, as if they weighed nothing, and perhaps they are weightless? This dimension seems to copy most of the world it is connected to, but does it copy the rules, too? Plains of blood-red grass and crevices full of molten magma dotted the once-idylic landscape.

The entire region was either burning, twisting or in the process of being consumed by magma. Corpses of farmers and people were frequent, most of them charred into statues, though some were still alive, barely, while nailed into the twisted trees or being tortured by halflings. Norn cursed the day he would have to see those wretched little creatures again after he had nearly wiped them out, effectively forcing the small-statured race into hiding. At least he found immense pleasure in sending his minions like bloodthirsty hounds at them. He had even let Bob, the farmer who has bad history with halflings since the beginning, go free after rescuing him yet again. But a shock came in the form of Melvin Underbelly.

The morbidly obese halfling was somehow still alive, and still eating. Its sickening corpulence was ensconced in a twisted version of a halfling home. With irony that didn't evade Norn, the halfling was force-fed until he exploded, and then came back to life to begin the process anew. The explosions were so immense, and so disgusting, that Norn had actually found a use for the obese monster.

Gnarl and Rose gave helpful advice in where to use Melvin's particular 'gift'. For a volcanic region, it was almost absent of any explosive substances. And explosives were most certainly needed as Norn had to go through many obstacles that neither him nor his minions could destroy. It was merry slaughter and horror all the way until Norn kicked the halfling king into a pit like a ball where he would be stuck forever if Norn has anything to say about it.

There was a thick gate, its function to keep whatever's behind it contained, that needed to be open after going down this rather pointless path of slaughter. Norn still enjoyed a good massacre or two, but all of this insanity might as well boil down to some logical reason like it always has. A simple cursory expedition grew into a full-fledged conquest. The hellish plane seems to serve a function, and the explanation hides behind that gate.

After some searching, the minions found a large lever and turned it, opening the gate. It opened to a long path in the shape of a volcanic crevice. At the end of it was a statue of blackest stone, fashioned into a horned skull. In size, it resembled a standard health stone. Gnarl had come to the conclusion that the stone was, in fact, the key to controlling this particular plane. As if sensing that something was a miss, wraiths dug out of the ground and collectively attacked, as if someone was leading them. Despite their numbers, Norn and his minions wiped them out. Just before bringing the stone home, and solidifying Norn's rule of this plane, peasants attacked in an attempt to destory the stone, calling it accursed and an abomonation. Norn couldn't bother to participate in the ensuing slaughter, and after that, brought the stone home. Also the minions found a mould for some type of axe.

After a well-deserved rest, Norn was disturbed by a report of yet another similar passage into yet another hellish plane. But this time it opened up in Evernight Forest, at the spot where Oberon's corpse decays still. He would have settled for the Mellow Hills copy to sprung by mere chance, but a copy of Evernight Forest was troubling.

With his arcanite armor donned yet again and his most elite minions at his side, Norn bid the portal of the Tower to transport him to the nearest point from where Oberon was slain. A large collumn of energy parted the gloom and doom of the marshy forest, around it coiled bone-like structures in a similar shape as the Portals back to the Tower. A small group of elves observed the unusual occurence with intense dislike. Some moaned in despair of seeing yet another abomination attack their already desecrated wood, while others remained silent and contemplative, as a dead, incroporeal being could be.

"It is not from this world, the energy feels...different." one of the elves spoke more to himself than others. The group nodded in agreement, but quickly stopped when they sensed their latest desecrator approach. Norn hadn't expected to be greeted by the dead, and they didn't, the only thing he got were uninterested glances and hateful glares from the more passionate ghosts.

"Why must you continue to desecrate these woods? Have we not suffered enough?" one of the ghosts spoke. Norn stopped to look at the obvious demonstration of primordial power. "What manner of demonic powers have you obtained now?"

Norn looked at the offending ghost with amusement, and enjoyed to see the ghost's jaw grind visibly. "Do not accuse, elf, those far above you. This is not my doing, unfortunately. If it was, there would be nothing left of your precious little forest."

The elf fell silent, though still maintained a heated glare. He could stare all he wanted, as far as Norn was concerned. But beneath his confident and powerful visage creeped worry and doubt. This is the first time he felt he might not be up to the challenge after fighting his predecessor. To breach barriers between world was a considerable power, and whomever, or whatever that posesses it can't be anything short of a god-like being. He started towards the collumn of energy, the elves floated aside reluctantly, and stepped into the vortex.

The winds that lashed at him suddenly stopped as he found himself in a small clearing surrounded by coiled bushes with thorns the size of his arms. The stones that litter the clearing are small spikes and twisted into strange wicked shapes. The smell of smoke permated the air and the forest seems to be in a state of permanent dusk. There was also an actual ceiling comprised of winding branches and brambles high above them. The trees around the clearing looked to have been twisted by evil and tortured. Their bark was burnt or rotten, just underneath were swarms of hungry insects Norn didn't wish to see.

From behind the small minion horde of four dozen minions appeared, cackling and cooing at the new and deliciously evil environment. Sady, Norn couldn't join in on their wonder of another land to conquesr as his gut twisted in on itself by worry. Maybe Mellow Hills was as far as he could get, surely the ruler of this domain has noticed his presence. A being that holds sway in a dimension such as this is certainly not forgiving and welcoming entity.

Something moved amidst the trees. It didn't look human, but more like a huge black spot in the orange-hued distance. Norn tightened his grip around the handle of his trusty Arcanite Greatsword that has felled swaths of enemies. Now even more alert, he noticed a distinct lack of sound. There was no noise whatsoever. None of the chirping, buzzing and wooshing that one could hear when in a forest. In fact, everything was still with no life whatsoever.

Off in the distance, Norn spotted a structure of somekind, but was too far to figure out what it is. He figured this was the place where the Abyss stone is to be found. He started down a narrow path that cleaved through a field of bramble and thorns, his minions following in a neat line.

The path went through archways of thorn and bramble, next to dried-out ponds and creeks and barren stone outcrops veined with strange black stone that felt like it was pulsing. Norn was never the one to be fascinated by or wonder about other dimensions... or anything else really...

Another clearing burst into view as Norn and his troupe passed under yet another bramble arch. It was wide and orange with dry grass, at the borders of the clearing were tall figures draped in flowing black robes with scythes in hands made out of parchement-yellow bone. Between the two of those prominent statues, still in the distance, was the structure. From where Norn was standing, it looked to be something of a unfinished structure with construction beams still visible. He needed to go there for a closer look.

When Norn and the minions stepped into the clearing, everything came to life. The fields of thorn, stone and the forest reshaped and swarmed all around them. The path behind Norn was swallowed by the thorn and bramble and would only be suicide to try and go back that way.

"Gnarl? Rose?" Norn called but got nothing. They weren't responding through the Tower Heart. The minions raised their weapons and were alert. The trees moved their branches to enclose the clearing into an inescapable dome that cast everything into darkness. Norn could see small dots up above where the canopy wasn't complete; could hear the trees grind and creak shut; could smell the rot that now envelops them; could taste fear in his mouth.

LIke dying stars, those dots of light disappeared. Suddenly pairs of deep, bland light ignited where Norn still vividly remembered those tall scythe-wielding statues were. Norn raised his left hand and let flame sprout in his palm. The flames cast light around him to reveal those robed figures far closer than they were before. He could see a yellow jawbone protrude beneath the cowl along with a hollow nose and life-less eye sockets with only burning evil within.

Hell hath no fury...?

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**The chapters will be short, a max to about 3k but there is a possibility for bigger ones. I hope you liked this short prologue and I will see you in the next chapter!  
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